JOHN 8:1-11 – Early in the morning, Jesus came again to the temple. All the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them. The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst they said to him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. Now in the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”
THEME OF THE DAY. JESUS AND HIS DEALING WITH PEOPLE. An insightful study of today’s scripture would be to look at each character involved. A glance at the scribes and Pharisees would see the ugliness of self-righteous hypocrisy and the self-deception sin breeds. Pondering the woman caught in adultery would see a humiliated sinner exposed by her sin. She stands in a public arena, racked with guilt, remorse, and regret. Then we come to the Lord Jesus. Let’s observe Him and be both warned and encouraged by His handling of the religious crowd and the shamed woman.
First, Jesus exposes self-righteous hypocrites – “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” Now before we become “cheerleaders” urging our Lord on to “Let those insensitive religious guys have it. They deserve it”, it isn’t just them He will address. Our Lord will always reveal and expose those times in our lives when our profession doesn’t match our practice. And this will happen often in our homes by those loving and observing us most. Be sensitive to the watching and listening eyes of our children and spouses. The Lord may use them to expose our sinful contradictions in what we say we are in public and what we may display at home. But don’t be discouraged. God will use our loved ones to expose us for correction not condemnation. That leads to a second observation of Jesus in this story.
Jesus never condemns the awakened and humbled sinner – “Neither do I condemn you; go and from now on sin no more.” In the Lord dealing with us, He does not expose our sin to hurt and condemn us. He makes us know, even feel, our sins to heal and correct us. The voice of harsh condemnation comes from the accuser of our souls, the devil and our conscience (1 John 3:20; Revelation 12:10). Don’t listen to condemning lies of our enemies. Learn to listen to the sweetest words a sinner and sinning Christian may ever hear from Jesus – “Neither do I condemn you.”
Studying characters in the Bible is a great way to grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus (2 Peter 3:18). As we consider the lives of various human beings in the scripture, simultaneously observe how the Lord treats them. It will give us a helpful insight to His heart and His dealing with us.
PRAYER: “Father, I praise You for being so merciful and always forgiving my many sins.”
QUOTE: “To be free from God’s condemnation is the most liberating experience we will ever enjoy.”